and she wasn't afraid to stand on top of the world
by this lacrimosa
Summary: She's in an alternate universe and no one knows that better than she does. Road to Ninja oneshot.


Title: and she wasn't afraid to stand on top of the world

Dedicated to: xxaa-chanxx (I FINALLY HAVE SOMETHING NEW, MAN.)

Disclaimer: Yeah, noooo.

Road to Ninja oneshot that I was inspired to write. Please, enjoy. :D.

* * *

Sakura smiles softly as she contemplates the pretty, blood red rose in her hands. Its thorns have been cut off so she holds it easily and goes to stick it in a vase with water to preserve it for as long as she can. When she does so, she places the vase on top of her kitchen table, still relishing at the gift Sasuke had given her. She pulls out a chair, plops herself in, and stares at the flower. She folds her arms onto the table and she places her head atop her arms, her smile content and happy.

She wonders about this new Sasuke, if his feelings are real and genuine. _I'll always be your ally..._ He's much more loose and his expressions aren't so reserved and she feels her heart beat fast when she remembers the confident smile on his face. The blood rushes to her face and she sighs in quiet delight. She wonders what the real Sasuke would think if he saw this alternate Sasuke. She giggles to herself quietly when she just imagines the incredulous look on his face. He'll show subtle changes from his usual stoic look, but she's known him long enough to recognize the signs.

But, her smile dies down when she thinks about him now. His goal to destroy Konoha and his indifference to killing everyone without a second glance. She still remembers his fingers on her throat, intent on cutting off her breathe and tossing her corpse aside. He was squeezing, squeezing, squeezing, and her breathing came in small gasps, shorter and shorter from the last. In her nightmares, Naruto doesn't come to save her at the last minute and the last thing she sees before she wakes up, sweaty and panting, are his eyes filled with hate and the subtle madness that he keeps to himself and comes out in rare shows of true anger.

Shaking her head to get rid of the morbid thoughts, she reminisces about the real world on a lighter turn and she laughs again to herself when she thinks about the personality changes. Oh, when she met Ino, she nearly had an aneurysm! Shy and timid, this alternate-universe-Ino would give real-world-Hinata a run for her money. But, still, even with the familiar faces, it's not home. It's Konoha, but _not._ Her smile turns sad and she has no idea what she was supposed to do now to go home.

In this world, no one's at home and she's not used to this because Mom and Dad in Konoha babied her and worried for her every minute. So, following the opposite rule, they're gone in this alternate universe and for the first few weeks, the freedom is _relishing._ There's no one to nag at her, no one to tell her what to do, what to wear, and the like. But, novelties get old quickly and she misses Kaa-chan and Tou-chan and wonders if this is how Naruto feels in the real world. She makes a bitter smile with a better understanding of Naruto's lonliness now and she feels guilty for every time that she badmouthed him. She makes a resolution that when she gets home, she would give her parents a bone-crushing hug and love them from the bottom of her heart.

She recognizes the fact that she's somehow escaped from reality and that she needs to find a way to get out. So solidifying her resolve, she stands up and decides to talk to Naruto to figure out how to go home. Since she isn't training or fighting, she slips out her standard red tank top and black spandex shorts and dons a simple, white sundress. When she walks out the door, she turns back once more to see the beautiful, red rose that decorates her kitchen table and wonders if she's making the right choice. She shakes her head and knows with a sad and tired perspective that she can't keep deluding herself for her own selfishness.

* * *

She walks to Naruto's apartment and when she stands in front of the building, she's surprised to hear a stentorian laughter that she recognizes as Naruto's guffaw and wonders what's going on. She knows that he lives alone and she can't think that he's already comfortable with the polar opposites of the Konoha Twelve. Naruto only lives on the second floor so she can kind of peer in from the ground floor outside.

What she sees sends a pang of lonliness and a deep pain to her heart. Naruto's mother, Uzumaki Kushina is yelling at her only son, Naruto, and Naruto's father, Namikaze Minato, is sitting in front of the kitchen table, calmly sipping a cup of tea and reading a newspaper as if the scene before him is normal. Kushina is scolding Naruto about something and Sakura sees red hair flying and a pan in one hand, flailing to hit Naruto. Naruto is ducking and dodging to avoid getting a sore bruise on his head, and she can see that he is yelling back at Kushina in indignance, with his eyebrows mashed downwards to the middle of his head. But, Sakura _knows_ Naruto and behind the shield of mock irritation, she can see the wonder and twinkle in his eyes from finally, _finally _knowing what it's like to have a real family that can show him real love. He's not alone anymore, so when he comes home, he knows there will be someone waiting for him with open arms and a loving smile.

Sakura watches this scene and the tightness in her heart forces a tear to slip past her eye and she wills herself to keep from letting a sob rip from her iron hold on herself. Her throat is clenching from the strain and her nails leave crescent moon shaped marks on her palms from her effort. When she regains her composure, she knows she can't talk to Naruto, yet. Sakura knows this isn't forever, but she wants Naruto to have a little something to remember before they have to leave. She pretends not to think of the expression of Naruto's face when she tells him that they need to get out and the world is harshly ripped from under his feet. She shoves that into an iron drawer in mind, chained tight and stored into an imaginary locker.

Now, she's slowly walking back to her tiny apartment when she remembers that Sasuke is still in Konoha. It's still a little disconcerting to think that he hasn't left and that he can smile and talk, so she decides to take advantage of that. She walks towards the Uchiha compound to give Sasuke a little visit and there's a lighter spring in her step.

But, on her way, she comes across a crowd of girls, three yards away, that are shrieking and screaming. When she comes closer, she hears what they're saying a little better and she gives a little start when she understands.

"Sasuke-kun! Go on a date with me!"

"Uchiha-san, let me be your girlfriend!"

"Sasuke-kun! Sasuke-kun!"

"Uchiha-sama!"

Sakura isn't surprised that Sasuke has garnered so much attention, but is shocked to hear Sasuke's response to all the attention.

"Now, now, ladies. There's only one of me to go around. All of you will get your turn. Just wait." Sasuke's velvety voice is smooth and easy, and his smirk sends girls into a shrieking frenzy that was a ton louder than before.

Sakura watches and her heart breaks when she watches him give some other girl a full petal-ed, blood red rose, fresh from the pickings. Her eyes are wide open and the tears that she held back before threaten fall again with an even greater force.

It's expected, she bitterly realizes. If Sasuke in the real world hates girls, of course, he would like girls from the real world. (She can't bring herself to say love.) She had hoped that this opposite Sasuke would love her only like she wanted in reality to mark this Sasuke has really opposite, but realized if there was one thing the two Sasuke's had in common was that, neither would love her as a soulmate. It was the only thing that would ever make Sasuke, Sasuke. She laughs a rancorous laugh. She thinks sadly that if Sasuke really loved her in this world, it would been that there would be no chance of the real Sasuke loving her. She lets out an unlady-like snort at her desperation, but she can't help herself. She just loves him so much...

She watches Sasuke a little more, flirting easily with other girls, and she gives a tired smile that conveys her perspective on life. She flinches when Sasuke accidentally catches her eyes and he gives another confident smile that makes other girls swoon. Sasuke expects the same from Sakura and that she would fall over in fawning and adoration, so when she gives a fake smile where the ends of her smile are too tight and her eyes don't show the mirth that he wants, he falls out of his charming mode for a minute and contemplates what he did wrong. He gave her a beatific smile on his handsome face, so why didn't she blush and giggle like she did this morning when he gave her the rose?

He watches as she gives a small wave and turns away from him, quickly. Sasuke's midnight black eyes widen in surprise when he thinks he caught a small twinkle of a tear threatening to fall from her deep forest green eyes.

She stands in place for a second, her head tilted back, watching the azure sky, rivaling the color of Naruto's heart-on-his-sleeve eyes. Sasuke watches Sakura's back and sees the strength lining on the spine of her bones. For a second, he tunes out the shrieking of the girls and takes the image of this girl-no. He takes in this image of a woman that isn't afraid to face the world with her chin up. She's walking away from the direction she came from and an easy breeze flows past her, playing with her petal pink hair. She stops for another moment and enjoys this small gift from nature. Her head looks to the right to see cherry blossom trees and some petals from fall free from the wind into her direction and she closes her eyes when she feels the soft pieces of the flower whisk past her face. Her arms are behind her back and she breathes in the faint smell of the flowers and she makes a soft smile. For the moment, she can forget that reality is waiting for her, that life waits on no one. For the moment, she can just _feel_.

Unbeknownst to her, Sasuke is watching this scene of honesty and fairy tale likeness. His eyes are entrapped on her figure as she is feeling nature around her. The gentle zephyr is soft passing by her and Sasuke is entranced at this woman who easily resembles a fairy at the moment. Her shoulder length, soft, flower pink hair is waving around above her head. In awe, Sasuke wonders if her hair is as silky soft as it looks. He doesn't see her face so he can't interpret her expressions. But, then she when she turns her head to look at the side, Sasuke takes in her expression, eyes closed, relishing in this small piece of nature. Her smile is content and shows that she is happy with what she has. Suddenly, the wind picks up and it blows past some Sakura trees, carrying some petals that fall free. They fly past her face and she giggles and he thinks that she looks adorable. Sakura turns away again and begins to walk away once more, cutting off the beautiful, simple scenery. In a fit of unreasonableness, he wishes that the short moment of peace could have lasted for a little longer.

His eyes trail after her for a little more when his head is suddenly attacked with a pounding headache. He clutches his head in his hands and the cluttering of the girls makes it worse. Their voices are shrill and trying to be helpful, but only exacerbates the situation.

"I'm fine, don't _worry_," he manages to spit out, although he is anything but.

His fingers pull at his hair in hope that this small pain would overpower the headache, but it's futile. His eyes blur and even when he squints everything starts to become distorted. Sasuke falls to his knees and groans, but in the pounding, images flash by his mind, one after another. It's hard to keep a hold of them, but the ones that he does see, makes his mind reel in astonishment, even through the pain.

He sees Sakura's green-green-green eyes widening in pain and terror. She's clawing at his throat, trying to get rid of fingers that are clutching at her throat in a death grip. Her neck is starting to whiten around the fingers because someone is choking her so tightly. Her legs are flailing in a vain attempt to free herself. In the midst of his pain, he realizes that he can't see who's holding her because he can only see the arm as if it's extending from... his body. Before he can make a solid conclusion, he sees another image flash by. A young girl, with pink hair and at an adolescent age, screaming something desperate and tears are sliding down her face. Again, he can't see who she's speaking to, but it looks like she's talking to... him. He's confused because Sakura is never weak she doesn't cry she's strong why why why _and what is going on. _Sasuke throws his head back, fingers and nails pressing into his head to overcome the pounding and can't calmly the onslaught of images and the people and the words passing through. (_I love you! If you leave, I'll-Believe it!-I'm gonna be Hokage someday!-_)

Just as quickly as it came, the pounding migraine leaves. Sasuke falls on all fours, panting like he had run a marathon and arms trembling. He fists his hand and digs it into his chest in an effort to get rid of the pain. His vision comes back slowly because it takes awhile for his eyes to adjust to the colors and light.

He wonders what he's just seen. He's just seen what feels like a memory and it feels so familiar and hes grasping at straws to figure it out, but it swiftly eludes him. Even as he absently lets the girls tug him around, he can't forget the desperation in that young Sakura's eyes and the myriad of tears that she was shedding. He can't forget the fright in Sakura's eyes as someone tries to forcibly take her life.

One last time, Sasuke looks in the direction that Sakura was walking. He remembers how she was walking tall and straightforward. Even when she's long gone, he wonders why the sight of her walking away from him gives a him an alien sense of deja vú and why the painful and tight clenching feeling in his chest just won't go away...

* * *

I wrote this because I was tired of Sakura-bashing and no one gives a damn if you hate a character or not. Respect whatever the author wrote because he wrote it that way _and that's how the fuck it will be_. No amount of wishing will change anything. So yeah.

Hope you enjoyed! :D.


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